This tutorial on how to move Lightroom to a new computer is specifically for Lightroom Classic. With the cloud-based version of Lightroom your catalog and photos automatically sync across different computers and devices with the Lightroom app.
The easiest way to move Lightroom to a new computer is to simply click and drag the entire Lightroom folder from your computer to an external hard drive and then to a new computer.
However, not everything will be copied across. This is true also when exporting your old Lightroom catalog as a new catalog.
The catalog doesn’t contain the actual photo files or Lightroom preset and template files – they’re stored separately from the catalog.
So, while it’s not difficult, moving Lightroom to a new computer involves a few steps to ensure that all the data and original files transfer safely, without breaking links between the catalog, the photos, your presets and edits.
Do you have enough disk space?
Before moving Lightroom to a new machine, make sure you have enough disk space on your new computer to accommodate your Lightroom catalog. You can check the size of your catalog by going to Lightroom Classic > Catalog Settings > General.
Also, bear in mind that your catalog size increases as you add more photos and make edits.
If you don’t have enough disk space, before beginning the migration process, you can:
- Store your photos on an external hard drive (I recommend this, even if you have enough space on your computer)
- Convert images in Lightroom Smart Previews to save disk space. Smart Previews are smaller versions of your photos and can be edited without the actual image file being connected to the computer
8 steps to move Lightroom to a new computer
In a nutshell, to move Lightroom to a new computer, copy everything from your old computer to a separate drive and then move it all from there to the new computer.
But that’s over simplifying things, so here are my 8 steps for a successful Lightroom migration:
- Backup photos to external hard drive
- Backup catalog to external hard drive or cloud storage
- Backup presets and templates to external hard drive to cloud storage
- Transfer catalog, presets and templates to new computer (maybe photos as well)
- Open Lightroom on new computer and check that everything has moved across safely
- Reconnect files showing errors (if any)
The most important part of any big change to the entire library is backing up your work.
By creating backups of everything, you can safely transfer your photo edits, preferences, and presets to your new computer without losing data.
It’s easier to have two windows open side by side so you can click and drag folders across
1. Backup and transfer photo files
If you already have your photos stored on an external hard drive you can skip this step.
If your photos aren’t stored on an external hard drive, first run a backup. Then transfer your Lightroom files from your old computer to a new computer, using either:
- External drive (preferable)
- Cloud storage
Transfer photos using external drive
- Connect your external drive to your old computer
- Open Finder or Windows Explorer and select your photo folder to transfer (hopefully your catalog has a single parent folder of photos with subfolders)
- Right click on the selected folder and select “Copy”
- Go to the external drive and click “Paste” to paste the entire folder without changing the filing structure
Transfer photos using cloud storage
Depending on how many photos you have and the amount of cloud storage you have, you can use cloud storage to transfer your Lightroom files to a new computer. However, it’ll probably take longer than using an external hard drive to transfer photos.
- Sign in to your cloud storage account on your old computer
- Upload your Lightroom files to the cloud
- Sign in to your cloud storage account on your new computer
- Download the Lightroom files from the cloud to your new computer
Note: Don’t store your photos in the cloud permanently – it’ll slow down your workflow to a standstill. Cloud storage is good for backups, but not for a working catalog or photos.
Reset your backup routine in the catalog settings dialog box
2. Backup your Lightroom catalog
Before moving Lightroom to a new computer, create a backup of your Lightroom catalog file (lrcat file). This file contains:
- Your file structure with photos in folders
- Collections
- Details of photo edits
- Editing history
- Virtual copies
Note: This is one of the reasons to have just one parent folder for all your Lightroom photos. A single catalog is easier to move and track than multiple catalogs.
Steps to back up your Lightroom catalog
You should have a regular backup system already set up, but to do an instant backup:
- In the menu click Lightroom Classic>Catalog Settings
- Click the “General” tab
- In the Back up catalog drop down menu select “When Lightroom next exits”
- Close Lightroom and click the Backup button
- Go to your Lightroom catalog folder, which is usually in the Pictures folder
- Remove the backup folder and store it elsewhere on your computer. The desktop is fine for now as you can delete it after everything has successfully moved.
If you don’t know where your catalog is stored on your computer:
- While in the “General” tab, click on the “Show” button to open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac)
3. Back up Lightroom presets and templates
Next, back up your Lightroom presets as they’re not included in your catalog backup process.
This involves separately backing up different Lightroom presets, specifically:
- Lightroom default presets and brush presets
- Custom presets that you’ve made
- Bought or free presets you’ve downloaded
First create a folder on your hard drive called “LR Presets Backup”, or whatever name makes sense to you.
How to to backup Lightroom default presets and brush presets
- Go to Lightroom Classic > Preferences (for Windows and Mac)
- In the Presets tab, click on the “Show All Other Lightroom Presets” button
- Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) will open
- The Lightroom folder will be highlighted
- Right click on it and select Copy
- Go to your external hard drive or cloud storage service and right click Paste to save it to your LR Presets Backup folder on the drive
Brush presets are saved as lrtemplate files in the Local Adjustment Presets folder within the Lightroom folder.
How to find the location of Lightroom presets on your computer using the Preferences dialog box
How to back up custom presets you’ve created
Custom presets you’ve made are stored separately from Lightroom default presets.
- Go to Lightroom Classic > Preferences (for Windows and Mac)
- In the Presets tab, click on the “Show Lightroom Develop Presets” button
- Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) will open
- The Settings folder will probably be highlighted
- Right click on it and select Copy
- Go to your external hard drive or cloud storage service and right click Paste to save the Settings folder to your LR Presets Backup folder on the drive
Copy presets folders on old computer
How to backup presets you’ve bought
Presets you’ve bought are stored in a different folder.
- Go to Lightroom Classic > Preferences (for Windows and Mac)
- In the Presets tab, click on the “Show Lightroom Develop Presets” button
- Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) will open
- Locate the ImportedSettings folder (yes, it’s written as one word for some reason)
- Right click on it and select Copy
- Go to your external hard drive or cloud storage service and right click Paste to save the ImportedSettings folder to your LR Presets Backup folder on the drive
Preset folders copied to the external hard drive ready to move Lightroom to a new computer
4. Set up Lightroom on new computer
Before you can start using Lightroom on your new computer, you must first install the software. This next step can be done before or after backing up the old catalog.
Instal Adobe Lightroom
- Go to the Adobe website and sign in to your account
- Navigate to the Creative Cloud apps section and click “Download” next to Lightroom
- Once the download is complete, run the installer and follow the prompts to install Lightroom on your new computer
Log into Adobe Account
After installing Lightroom, log in to your Adobe account to activate the software.
- Open Lightroom on your new computer
- When prompted to sign in, enter your Adobe ID and password
- Click “Sign In” to activate Lightroom on your new computer
Lightroom catalog in the Pictures folder (default location) on the old computer hard drive
5. Import Lightroom catalog and image files
Transfer Lightroom catalog
- Connect the external hard drive (or cloud storage) to your new computer
- Transfer the catalog folder to your new computer by clicking and dragging it across or copying and then pasting it
Lightroom doesn’t work from a network drive, so use cloud storage only for transferring the catalog to a hard drive or different computer.
Connect image files
- If you prefer to have your photos on the hard drive, you can leave them in the folder on the external drive
- If you prefer your photos to be on your new computer transfer your image files to the Pictures folder of your new computer by clicking and dragging the image folder across. Or copy and paste it.
Use the presets panel to import presets from the hard drive to the new computer
6. Import presets
You can import Develop presets to your new catalog via the presets panel, or by copying them from the hard drive to the relevant folders on your new computer.
Color profiles will also be imported when you import custom made or bought develop presets.
Import your custom develop presets with the presets panel
In the Develop module:
- Click the plus sign at the top of the presets panel
- Select Import Presets
- Open the Settings folder on the external hard drive
- Select all files
- Click Import
Import bought develop presets with the presets panel
In the Develop module:
- Click the plus sign at the top of the presets panel
- Select Import Presets
- Open the ImportedSettings folder on the external hard drive
- Select all files
- Click Import
The error message you get if you try to import brush presets via the presets panel
Add custom and/or bought brush presets
Adding your brush presets to a new computer works differently. You can’t import them via the presets panel, so you must copy them (lrtemplate file) from the hard drive to the relevant folders on your new computer.
To find the relevant folders on your new computer, repeat the steps you followed (see the beginning of this Lightroom tutorial) to find the folders on your old computer.
I suggest having two windows open side by side so it’s easy to copy and paste from the hard drive folders to the new computer folders.
Folders with question marks mean Lightroom can’t find the actual photos. White rectangles on thumbnails mean the image is a smart preview as photos aren’t connected to the catalog
7. Reconnect missing files and folders
A question mark or exclamation mark on folders and/or photos mean that Lightroom can’t find the original files. However, there’s an easy solution.
A white rectangle on the photo thumbnail in the filmstrip indicates that the image is a Smart Preview as the actual photos aren’t currently connected to the computer.
If you can’t see the parent folder, right click on the top level folder and select “Show Parent Folder”.
Find missing folder
To find missing folders in a Lightroom catalog, open the Folders panel in the Lightroom Library module.
- Right click on the folder and select “Find Missing Folder”
- Navigate to the folder’s new location on your new computer, or on the external hard drive if you decide to keep photos there
- Select the folder and click Choose
Reconnect missing photos
To reconnect missing pictures, open the Folders panel in the Lightroom Library module.
- Right click on the photo and select “Locate Missing Photo”
- Navigate to the photo’s new location on your new computer or on the external hard drive if you decide to keep photos there
- Select the photo and click Choose
Lightroom file structure on new computer with all photos synced
8. Check everything is working
Before celebrating your successful catalog migration, first verify that your photos are actually located in the folders you expect them to be in.
- In Lightroom right click on a photo in either the Library module or Develop module
- Click on “Show in Windows” (Windows) or “Show in Finder” (Mac) from the dropdown menu
- Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) opens in the photo’s folder with the photo highlighted and you can verify its location
Third party plugins dialog box
Test third-party plugins
If you use third-party plugins in Lightroom, the final step is to test them on your new computer to make sure they’re working correctly.
- In the Lightroom menu click File > Plug-in Manager
- A dialog box listing all your plugins opens
- Test each plugin to ensure that it’s working as expected
9. Celebrate a successful Lightroom migration
That’s it! You’ve successfully moved Lightroom Classic to a different location and verified that everything is working correctly.
Close Lightroom and perform your first catalog backup in the new location.
Now the unofficial last step is to celebrate your success!
Leave a comment
If you have any questions about how to move Lightroom to a new computer, let us know in the comments.
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